


All Our Universes Lead To This

by ThatBohoFemme



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: (kind of), Alternate Universes, Established Relationship, F/M, Late night contemplation, Late night thoughts, Multiverse, New Parent, Retrospective, Wondering what might have been
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-09 17:13:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19891414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatBohoFemme/pseuds/ThatBohoFemme
Summary: This is the life she never expected but it's also the life that's perfect for her. Every moment has led her to this, and she's so grateful.She can't even begin to imagine what her world would be like with Finn and Nessa.Yet, during those 3 AM feedings, she can't help wondering about the parallel universes and their infinite possibilities.What are her multiverses really like?





	All Our Universes Lead To This

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Achika](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Achika/gifts).



> Inspired by [This](https://thoughtcatalog.com/gaby-dunn/2012/05/maybe-in-another-universe-i-deserve-you/) article on Thought Catalog. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this! 
> 
> Happy Extreme Deadlines!

On the nights Nessa refuses to sleep, Bayley sits up and cradles the fussy baby against her chest. She sings lullabies. They watch old reruns of Three's Company, only found on some obscure channel she didn't even know they had. She does whatever she can to pass the time. 

Finn checks in sporadically, calling from hotels, airports and truck stops. He tries his best to call every 90 minutes or so, but she doesn't expect it. He's busy. It's the nature of the beast. Bayley never expects too much- all she asks is that he check in every so often and call before he goes to sleep. 

Bayley knows Finn would give in anything to be there. That's fine- she doesn't begrudge him that. Nessa's beginning to slowly morph into an actual person, versus the newborn blob she's been for that last six weeks. There's nothing glamorous about life with a newborn. Nessa cries. Nessa eats. Nessa poops. Then, she cries some more and the cycle begins again. 

Bayley would much rather have him home when she's older and able to understand more of life. For now, she's fine with him living his life, working so very hard to provide for them. Some women would be resentful of their husband never being there.

Bayley's not like that. She's proud of Finn still out there living his dream. 

Some nights, she lays back on the chaise lounger. As the baby nurses, Bayley closes her eyes and allows her mind to wander. This is the life she never expected but it's also the life that's perfect for her. Every moment has led her to this, and she's so grateful. 

She can't even begin to imagine what her world would be like with Finn and Nessa. 

Yet, during those 3 AM feedings, she can't help wondering about the parallel universes and their infinite possibilities. 

What are her multiverses really like? 

I.   
Bayley refuses to sign with The Performance Center until she thinks she's ready. The Powers That Be are so interested in her that they're fine with that. They know not to let a talent like hers get away. 

It's 2017. They'd first started courting her in 2014. She'd been interested but had never thought the timing was right. There was still so much she wanted to see. 

Now with a curious eye, she watched as Sasha, Charloote and Becky formed _The Three Horsewomen_. Despite being a play on _The Four Horsemen_ , the _three_ women proved to be so powerful that they didn't need a fourth member. 

Bayley can't help wondering if she _might_ have been their fourth member, if she had chosen to take the original contract. Something always seems off by their configuration. She couldn't figure out what it was but she also tried not to think too hard about it. 

She has legendary matches with the likes of Candice LaRae and Mia Yim. While great, Bayley Rose never seems to reach her full potential. 

By the time she turns 34, she realizes it's never going to happen. She would never make the main roster, and she'd be forever stuck in the PC, watching those she loved have a dream that would never be hers. 

Instead of wrestling, she chooses to focus on the real world. 

Love finds her. Johnny Gargano sweeps her off her feet, and promises her the world. Bayley eagerly accepts, ready for some semblance of a normal life. Sure, Johnny wants to keep wrestling- but Bayley's fine with that. 

She gives up NXT for a normal life. They marry, and immediately have a couple of kids. To her delight, she loves being a stay-at-home mom and immediately finds her zen.

Some people might think she regrets giving up that 'glamorous' life. 

That's about as far from the truth as one can get. If anything, Bayley loves her life.

She never fully retires, choosing to make sporadic returns as the company needs her. They love having her reunite with Candice amd Mia, reliving those infamous matches that helped to change the face of women's wrestling. Her children always remained her first priority, but she never lets them get in the way of her dreams. 

Yet, every time she passes that big portrait of The Three Horsewomen in the PC lobby, she can't help but feel like something's missing.

II.   
Bayley never made it very far in pursuit of her dreams. 

It hadn't been for lack of trying. She went through the training, learned to do everything right and began to show a beautiful deliverance in the ring. Bayley had found her calling, and she would absolutely be somebody in the wrestling world. 

Then, a mistimed suplex blew her left knee out. 

Her training stopped. Even with the proper recovery time and doing everything the professionals suggested, she couldn't get back in the ring. Instead, she transitioned to a 'normal' life. 

She got a degree in finance- which was exactly what she needed to work at _Wells Fargo_ as a personal banker. It wasn't the life she'd dreamt of, but it paid the bills.

Instead of flying through the air with the grace of _Macho Man Randy Savage_ or brawling with the likes of _Chyna_ , Bayley processed loan applications and helped teenagers open their first bank accounts. She didn't particularly enjoy it but it definitely served as a means to the end. 

Eventually, she fell in love with Wayne, a widower with two small children. She helped him get his small business loan approved, and found him with his sparkling eyes and charming wit particularly endearing. Despite it being against bank policy, she accepted the invitation to dinner. 

Quite simply, he made her laugh in a way no one had yet to do. 

They married several months later. Bayley _adored_ Amber and Max, as if they were her own. It only made sense to marry, allowing them to become the kind of blended family that the world envied. 

Cecilia arrived seven months after the wedding. 

Bayley still watched wrestling, but not when the children were awake. Things like that were so violent, and she wanted her kids to stay little for as long as she could possibly manage. Instead, she watched it at 3 in the morning, while nursing the baby. Cecilia was a voracious eater, who could easily nurse for an hour at a time if Bayley let her. 

Bayley watched the lady with the shocking pink hair (Sarah? No. SASHA) wrestle Emma in a vat of sour cream. She hated watching these matches- the women had so much talent and yet, were regularly subjected to _this_. 

As they announced Emma the victor, Bayley's eye zoomed in on her own knee. The jagged lines of pink scar tissue mocked her, reminding her of the dream that never came to fruition. 

Bayley knew she would have changed the world. Everyone told her she was _that_ good. One moment in time forever altered the course of her history. 

While she would never trade her life with Wayne or wish Cecilia away, she couldn't help listening to the line her scar repeated. 

_If Only._

III. Bayley had always heard of the elusive Prince Devitt. She knew The Performance Center had tried for years to sign him, but he refused. _New Japan Pro Wrestling_ was good to him, and he loved Tokyo. He wouldn't come until he was good and ready. 

This didn't seem to bother them. 

Imagine her surprise when the whispers finally reached her. After _years_ of courting, Prince Devitt finally saw fit to accept Hunter's offer. He decided to make the leap. 

Being a top guy meant her husband got _all_ the details. Devitt's contract was one of the largest NXT had ever had. Elias wasn't sure of the exact amount, but knew it was a number so obscene no one possibly believed it could be real. 

Bayley didn't care about any of that. She loved wrestling. Money didn't change that fact. If anything, the opportunity to meet Hunter's White Whale thrilled her. _This_ was the man he had moved Heaven and Earth for a chance to sign. 

She wanted a chance to meet someone like her. 

For as long as she could remember, she had been at the top of the women's wrestling game. The crowds loved her- screaming her name and showering her with admiration. Her peers considered her a leader. She had an adoring husband who she loved dearly and who loved her in return. 

Life was good. 

Yet, she couldn't shake the idea she _had_ to meet this man. 

Elias introduced her to Prince Devitt on a Tuesday. While his official debut wouldn't be until the Royal Rumble, The Powers That Be were eager to get him acquainted with life in Florida. 

Elias had been volunteered for that job. 

As he extended his hand for a friendly shake, she took it and almost immediately dropped it, as a jolt of energy flowed between them. 

For reasons she couldn't quite explain, she knew him and that thought _terrified_ her. 

IV. Bayley Rose loved Finn Balor.

He was her best friend. He made her laugh when no one else could. Their energy was great together. 

It wasn't a far stretch to admit she fallen in love with him when she least expected it. He was there when she needed him. He made it a point to always be there. He went out of the way for her. 

They were _perfect_ for each other. 

She could never bring herself to say anything. She didn't want to ruin what they had. Instead, she made it a point to love him from a distance. 

She couldn't help wondering if he felt the same. What if he was in the same situation she was in? Why could she not take the chance? 

She just had it in her head that she couldn't do it. 

She never stopped wondering what might have been.   
\-----  
On those late nights, Bayley never can shut her mind down. She tries but it just inevitably wanders. She knows it's probably because she's alone. People visit her but they never stay very long. 

So much in her life had to go right to get her to this moment. If she had made a different decision at any one point, she wouldn't be sitting in that moment. 

Maybe it's the law of averages. All the universes where they didn't get together meant they _had_ to get together this time. She doesn't know what to think. 

Dreaming of these other universes is both terrifying and fascinating. She loves to think about all the roads she didn't take. Life could have gone any number of ways.

These thoughts also terrify her because she's forced to consider an existence without Nessa and Finn. She doesn't ever want to live a world where she doesn't have this perfection. 

As Nessa finally falls asleep, Bayley settles her in the bassinet attached to their bed. She watches the baby sleep, and prepares to settle down herself. 

As she drifts off, she gives thanks to the universe for this timeline. 

This is the way it's supposed to be. 

-end-


End file.
